BALTIMORE — A dispute over enhanced premium tax credits has shutdown the federal government for the past week, with Democrats pushing to maintain the credits while Republicans wanting a funding bill without them.
The enhanced tax credits, which began in 2021 during the pandemic, expanding both the size of existing credits and the income eligibility range for coverage assistance.
"It made the tax credits larger, so it made coverage more affordable for people that were already getting a tax credit, but it also extended the income range at which people were eligible," said Katherine Hempstead, senior policy fellow at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
To qualify for the credits, individuals must earn below 400% of the federal poverty line, approximately $120,000 or less for a family of four. Recipients also cannot have access to public coverage or employer-provided insurance.
Hear from Democrats and Republicans on the issue of funding the government as the shutdown continues
"For many lower income people, the tax credits made a really big difference and for people with, lower incomes, brought them close to $0 in some cases or, you know, very, very low cost premiums," Hempstead said.
Representative Andy Harris, leader of the House Freedom Caucus, addressed the ongoing negotiations during a press conference with reporters.
"The fact of the matter is that there's a lot at stake for Maryland, Maryland has a lot of Federal Employees if reductions in force start taking place or essentially layoffs start to take place that would be bad thing to happen so I voted to keep the government open, unfortunately none of my democratic colleagues in the state of Maryland voted to keep the government open," Harris said.
Maryland Senators Angela Alsobrooks and Chris Van Hollen remain firm in their support for continuing the tax credits.
"I think we're hearing pretty loudly and clearly from the American people, that they don't believe that it was right for the Republicans to shut down the government, rather than help Americans have affordable health care," Alsobrooks said.
"Their current position is it's their way or the highway, and they don't want to talk until we pass their bill instead of passing our bill, which does reopen the government, but without giving Donald Trump a blank check, and while also dealing with these soon to explode health care costs," Van Hollen said.
The shutdown particularly impacts Maryland compared to other states due to the high number of federal workers living in the state. The longer the shutdown continues, the greater the impact on Maryland residents.
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